Shoe for chair-legs.



No. 807,535. PATENTED DEC. 19, 1905. 0. L. BBARDSLEY & E. W. BITTNER. SHOE FOR CHAIR LEGS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 807,535. PATENTED DEC. 19, 1905. O. L. BEARDSLBY & B. W. BITTNER.

SHOE FOR CHAIR LEGS.

APPLICATION IILIID JUNE 28, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 24 UNITED- PATENT OFFICE.

OTIS L. BEARDSLEY AND EDWARD W. BITTNER, OF CHICAGO. ILLINOIS; SAID BITTNER ASSIGNOR TO SAID BEARDSLEY.

SHOE FOR CHAIR-LEGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1905.

Application filed June 28, 1904. Serial No. 214,553.

T 0 Cl whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, OTIS L. BEARDSLEY and EDWARD I/V. BITTNER, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the countyof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shoes for Chair-Legs, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

- Our invention relates to chairs, tables, or similar articles of furniture having the legs made from loops of heavy wire. An objection urged against such articles has been that when used on polished floors they are apt to slip or to scratch the floor, and when used out of doors, resting simply upon the earth, the legs are liable to sink into the ground because of the narrow area of the foot. Wire legs are also apt to sink in, dent, or scratch floor-coverings such as linoleum or the like. It has been our object to improve these chairs, &c., in such a way as to overcome these objections, and we have done this by providing a metal shoe which fits upon and is clamped to the lower portion of the loop forming the foot, this shoe being generally formed with a socket adapted to receive a rubber tip which will cushion the metallic foot. Where the chair is to be used out of doors, the rubber tip may be omitted and the shoe formed with a broad flat web or surface adapted to rest upon the earth without sinking in.

l/Ve will describe our invention particularly by reference to the accompanying drawings. in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wire chair having the legs thereof furnished with our improved shoe. Fig. 2 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, showing the lower end of the chair-leg and the shoe more in detail. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the end of the chair-leg and the shoe fastened thereto. Fig. 4 is a bottom view. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of the two members of the shoe separated from each other. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of a modified form of shoe in which the rubber tip and the socket therefor are omitted, and Fig. 8 is a bottom view of the modification shown in Fig. 7.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts wherever they are shown.

The chair (shown in Fig. 1) is of a type which is well known, the general features thereof being made the subject-matter of a prior patent, No. 694,457, issued March 4,

1902, to Otis L.-Beardsley, one of the present applicants. The legs of this chair are formed of twisted loops of iron Wire, and many articles of furniture are made with legs formed in this way. At the lower end of the leg the loop is spread out and flattened to form a foot, as shown. In accordance with our invention a metal shoe is fitted upon and clamped to this foot. This shoe is preferably formed in two parts a b, clamped together upon the end of the wire loop by means of the screw-bolt 0. These two parts may be stamped from sheet metal and are provided with curved flanges 6* I), which form recesses adapted to receive the curved foot of the wire loop. The lower member 6 of the shoe is formed with a socket b in the central portion thereof adapted to receive a rubber tip (1. Means are provided for holding the rubber tip d within the socket. Preferably the socket is formed with walls converging toward its mouth, and the rubber piece is correspondingly tapered and is inserted in the socket from above before the two parts of the shoe are clamped together. The mouth of the socket b preferablyhas rounded edges, as shown in Fig. 3. The object of this is to prevent the edge of the socket from biting into the rubber and forming a fulcrum by which the rubber could be worked loose. We have found that if the edge of the socket is made sharp the rubber cushion can be worked out by pulling it from side to side, the edge of the socket biting into the rubber and holding it .on one side while the opposite side is being forced outwardly. The rounded edge of the socketprevents such action.

It will be appreciated that the shoe above described is simple, cheap, and easily applied. When the rubber cushions become worn, they can easily be replaced at slight expense. A plain rubber cot slipped over the end of the chair would have to be so large that it would be comparatively expensive and when worn out the entire piece would have to be replaced. The metal shoe of our invention can be manufactured very cheaply by stamping the parts from sheet metal.

If desired, the shoe may be formed without the socket, the rubber tip being omitted and the shoe serving simply as a broad supporting part for the chair-leg. The shoe may be conveniently formed of a single piece, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, comprising a flat web portion Z2 having a curved flange F,

adapted to fit the curve of the wire loop, and having tongues 6 6 which are bent over the wire loop and clenched thereon to hold the shoe firmly in place.

Having thus described our invention, we claim 1. The combination with a supporting-leg formed of a wire loop spread out and flattened to form a foot, of a shoe for said foot comprising two sheet-metal members a I) adapted to fit the wire loop, and means for clamping said members upon the loop, the lower member having a conical socket 6' formed therein, and a tapered cushion d held in said socket and projecting through the same, as described.

'2. The combination with a leg formed of a loop of wire, said loop being spread to form a foot, of a shoe comprising a lower member provided with a socket having its walls converging toward its mouth, said mouth having A. H. MOORE, DE WITT O. TANNER. 

